FACT CHECK: Did A U.S. Military Veteran Sell His Medals To Buy Groceries?

A post shared on Facebook claims a U.S. World War II veteran named Jacob Rivas sold his medals in order to buy groceries.

Verdict: False

The story is fabricated. There are no records of any Medal of Honor recipient with the last name Rivas, according to the National Medal of Honor Museum’s recipient database.

Fact Check:

U.S. inflation reached 9.1 percent on the consumer price index in June, with food prices up over 10 percent since last year, according to the index. A post shared on Facebook claims the price increase recently forced one decorated veteran to sell his medals in order to buy groceries.

The post links to a July 30 article from the blog pronews10.com titled, “Old Veteran Sells His Medals to Buy Groceries, Next Day Sees Military Band Playing At His Yard.” The article claims that Rivas, a 93-year-old World War II veteran who won the Medal of Honor, sold his medals in order to pay for groceries for himself and a woman in his care.

“Wow, now this is awful for someone to have to sell anything to buy groceries and medicine,” reads part of the Facebook post’s caption. (RELATED: Did Joe Biden Propose A $2 Trillion Bill To Study The Cause Of Rising Inflation Rates?)

The story appears to be fabricated. Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to suggest that Rivas is a real person. While the article claims he won the Medal of Honor, no one with the last name Rivas is listed on the National Medal of Honor Museum’s recipient database. The viral blog post fails to mention where Rivas lives or when the alleged sale of his medals occurred.

The same story was also shared by the Turkish-language website news5media.com, according to Snopes, which also debunked the claim.

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